IFS Certification

(International Featured Standards)

IFS Certification

The IFS Standards currently comprise eight standards, which have been developed for and by the stakeholders involved in all parts of the supply chain. All standards are process standards which help users when implementing legal provisions regarding food and/or product safety, and provide uniform guidelines on food, -- product safety and quality issues. An IFS certification shows that the certified company has established processes which are suitable for ensuring food and/or product safety, and that it has considered and implemented customer specifications. Certification is open to food manufacturers, brokers, logistics providers, manufacturers of household and hygiene products as well as wholesalers and retailers.

IFS Food

IFS Food is a standard for the auditing of companies that process food or companies that pack loose food products. IFS Food is only applied where the product is "processed or handled", or if there is a danger of product contamination during the primary packaging.

IFS Food is applied to:

processing and working and/or

handling of loose products and/or

activities undertaken during the primary packaging.

IFS Global Markets Food

The IFS Global Markets – Food is a standardized food safety assessment program for retailers as well as industry branded food products. The program is meant to support “small and/or less developed businesses” in the development of their food safety management systems and making the first step towards the implementation of the IFS Food Standard.

IFS Wholesale / Cash & Carry

IFS Wholesale / Cash & Carry Standard was developed to optimize the audit procedures of wholesalers and cash & carry markets. These two distinct types of businesses are seen as important connectors between producers and converters as well as commercial clients. Besides a wide range of traded products, they can also carry out certain treatment and/or processing activities and develop own brands. Depending on the core business of the company, a taylor made checklist applies, either for Wholesale or Cash & Carry.

IFS Logistics

IFS Logistics is applicable to both food and non-food products and covers all logistics activities, such as loading, unloading and transportation. The standard can be applied to all sorts of transportation; heavy goods vehicles, trains, ships, aeroplanes and every other type of transport (temperature controlled or at room temperature).

IFS Global Markets Logistics

The IFS Global Markets Logistics program’s objective is to facilitate market access locally, create mutual acceptance along the supply chain and provide a framework for mentoring, developing and assessing small and less developed logistics service provider. These companies might encounter difficulties in implementing efficient product safety and quality processes, due to their size, lack of technical expertise or economic resources. The program includes a protocol to drive incrementally the continuous improvement process in logistics safety management systems. It offers a flexible application of the stepwise approach in sense of time, starting level and final level to achieve. Moreover, the IFS Global Markets- Logistics offers a good opportunity to make first steps towards a full IFS Logistics certification.

IFS Broker 2

IFS Brokers must be applied to all companies primarily involved in "trading activities“ and who themselves choose their suppliers, purchase or trade in the goods from them themselves and then have deliveries made directly to their own customers, charging these customer for such goods directly, without themselves ever having come into contract with the product.

IFS HPC

IFS HPC is the standard to ensure product safety, to reduce costs and to ensure transparency concerning the entire production chain of household and personal care products. The IFS HPC version 2 will come into force in October 2016. There will be a transition period from October 2016 until 1st of January 2017, in which companies could choose between IFS HPC version 1 and IFS HPC version 2. From 1st of January 2017 only IFS HPC audits based on version 2 will be accepted.

IFS PACsecure

IFS PACsecure is a Standard for auditing primary and secondary packaging material manufacturers and converters.

IFS Food Store

The RAS Standard emerges from the desire of leading retailers in the French food industry, who are members of the FCD (Fédération des entreprises du Commerce et de la Distribution - French Federation of Trade and Retail), to obtain a factual measurement of how well their stores control the food safety of the food products sold.